REHOBOTH BEACH – When he was 12 or 13, chef Jon Downs started working at his father’s restaurant in New Jersey.

The restaurant didn’t last long, but Downs’ love for the business has lasted a lifetime.

“Restaurants, that’s my heart and soul; I’m not a suit and tie kind of guy,” he said.

Downs is now chef at the Delaware Distilling Co. in Rehoboth Beach, making food that he describes as local, with Asian and Italian flare.

The Asian inspiration comes from Downs’ mother, who is Japanese, and the Italian comes from his experiences working in the Philadelphia area.

In 2011, Downs came down to Delaware to help Zachary King open his first restaurant, Port in Dewey Beach, where he worked as a sous chef. When King, 25, opened up the Delaware Distilling Co. this past May, he brought Downs over to be chef.

“I try to do everything from scratch up,” Downs said. “It’s all homemade, the kind of cooking your grandma did.”

His passion is apparent in the way he describes his food — most restaurants have a fish of the day, but Downs puts some extra into the preparation. Dec. 19, the dish was blackened Mahi-Mahi with pineapple salsa with red onion, roasted red peppers, garlic and mint.

“The sweetness from that accompanies the heat from the blackened seasoning on the fish,” Downs said.

He said the restaurant tries to source everything as locally as possible — in the summer the produce comes from Fifer Orchards and the fish is sourced 100 percent locally. In the winter, it is harder to stay local, but they still make the effort.

“We try to keep the money in the area,” Downs said. “It doesn’t have that coming-across-America-on-a-truck thing, it has a longer shelf life ... it’s just all around better.”

The barbecue baby back ribs, slow roasted for four-and-a-half hours, are also a popular item, with barbecue sauce made with white whiskey that is distilled in-house. In the future, Downs said the restaurant plans to incorporate libations made at the on-site distillery into more items.

Crab cakes are also popular, King said.

“We’re pretty picky about the crab cakes,” King said. “Most people that are used to the traditional Maryland fresh crab cakes can get (them) here and enjoy them.”

King said they’ve been seeing more locals in the offseason, and they’ve also seen a boost in business during the holiday season from the nearby Tanger Outlets.

Currently the restaurant seats 250, but King said there’s a plan to cut that by about 50 and use the space instead to expand the distillery, so it would be in view of the customers while dining.